{"id":916,"date":"2026-10-17T05:12:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T05:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=916"},"modified":"2026-10-17T14:56:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T14:56:24","slug":"bob-roling-boy-scout-years","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=916","title":{"rendered":"Bob Roling\u2019s Boy Scout Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2190 Return to the Roling family story<\/a> \u00b7 Browse stories by theme<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas gatherings at the Scout Cabin, a patrol camporee, and swimming lessons away from home bring Bob Roling\u2019s Boy Scout years into view. Bob appears in these local newspaper reports as Bobby Roling. The articles follow activities of Ben Franklin Troop 18 under scoutmaster Dr. R. C. Sweeney. Together they preserve small, concrete details of growing up in the troop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The articles below are arranged by publication date. Each entry links to the original newspaper page on Newspapers.com, where an account or subscription may be required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Browse the articles<\/strong>
1944 troop application<\/a> \u00b7 1944 Christmas party<\/a> \u00b7 1945 first aid<\/a> \u00b7 1945 paper drive and party<\/a> \u00b7 1945 camporee<\/a> \u00b7 1945 badge review<\/a> \u00b7 1945 cabin gatherings<\/a> \u00b7 1947 summer camp<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

September 28, 1944 \u00b7 An application to join<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Application received; entry still ahead.<\/strong> A Salisbury report about the troop\u2019s reorganization includes Bobby Roling among boys whose applications had been received and who were to enter the troop later. His name is not in the separate list of Tenderfoot-badge recipients. This notice marks a reported application, without establishing his admission date or a rank award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong> \u201cSalisbury Scout Troop Reorganized,\u201d Moberly Monitor-Index and Moberly Evening Democrat<\/em>, September 28, 1944, page 6. Read the original troop-reorganization report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 22, 1944 \u00b7 Christmas at the Scout Cabin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reported after the event.<\/strong> Dr. Sweeney hosted the troop\u2019s Christmas party at the Scout Cabin in City Park on Wednesday evening of the publication week. Games, patrol stunts, ice cream and cake accompanied the exchange of gifts. Bobby Roling and Carol Sue Roling appear in the combined list of Scouts and guests. The list does not identify couples or assign each person a membership role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong> \u201cDr. R. C. Sweeney Entertains Scouts,\u201d Salisbury Press-Spectator<\/em>, December 22, 1944, page 1. Read the original 1944 Christmas-party article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 27, 1945 \u00b7 Learning first aid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A completed skill requirement.<\/strong> After six weeks of Tuesday-evening instruction by Dr. F. L. Harms, Scouts took first-aid examinations. Bobby Roling is listed among those who passed the second-class first-aid requirements. This was a particular skill requirement; it does not by itself establish that he had completed the whole Second Class rank or received a badge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong> \u201cDr. F. L. Harms Instructs Boy Scouts in First Aid,\u201d Salisbury Press-Spectator<\/em>, April 27, 1945, page 1. Read the original first-aid report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 4, 1945 \u00b7 Waste-paper collecting and a spring party<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Medal qualification reported.<\/strong> Bobby Roling is credited with collecting 1,495 pounds of waste paper and is listed among the Scouts who qualified for the General Eisenhower medal. The notice establishes qualification, rather than confirming that the medal was physically presented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A separate Scout notice in the same issue reports a party held Friday evening, April 27. Its guest list includes Rita Roling, Raymond Widmer and Ruth Pleyer. It does not identify the occasion as Bob and Bridget\u2019s first date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources:<\/strong> \u201cScouts Over the Top in Waste Paper Drive\u201d and \u201cScouts Have a Party on Friday Evening,\u201d Salisbury Press-Spectator<\/em>, May 4, 1945, page 1. Read the original paper-drive and party notices<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 8, 1945 \u00b7 The Wolf Patrol at Moberly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reported after the event.<\/strong> Bobby Roling is listed in Donald Brummall\u2019s Wolf Patrol at the June 1\u20133 camporee in Rothwell Park, Moberly. On the patrol projects, Wolf Patrol earned 269 points and Cobra Patrol 290, both above the 225-point threshold for an excellent award. The report says both patrols also met the other necessary points and received their excellent awards before camp ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong> \u201cLocal Scouts Attend Scout Camporee,\u201d Salisbury Press-Spectator<\/em>, June 8, 1945, page 1. Read the original camporee article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

October 12, 1945 \u00b7 Second-class requirements completed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Completed requirements; ceremony still planned.<\/strong> The troop\u2019s Board of Review reported that Bobby Roling and Ronald Flaspohler had passed their second-class requirements and were approved to receive their badges. A Court of Honor was announced for October 16 at 7:30 p.m. This article establishes the review and approval, but does not confirm that the later presentation took place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong> \u201cBoard of Review for Boy Scouts,\u201d Salisbury Press-Spectator<\/em>, October 12, 1945, page 1. Read the original Board of Review notice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 21, 1945 \u00b7 Three gatherings at the cabin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reported after the events.<\/strong> One article describes three separate occasions: a Thursday dinner, a Sunday open house and a Tuesday Christmas party. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Roling attended the dinner, which the Scouts prepared and served as a learning project. More than a hundred visitors came to the open house, bringing household items for what the paper called the new Scout Cabin in the city park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bobby Roling appears in the Christmas-party guest list. The evening included dancing, refreshments and gifts for the girls. Dr. Sweeney gave each Scout a neckerchief in the troop\u2019s new red-and-blue colors. The report does not identify any girl\u2019s gift or pair the people listed as dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong> \u201cLocal Boy Scout Troop Entertains With Three Events,\u201d Salisbury Press-Spectator<\/em>, December 21, 1945, page 1. The Christmas-party guest list continues into the next column. Read the original three-events article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 18, 1947 \u00b7 A week at Maurers Lake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reported after the trip.<\/strong> Nineteen Scouts returned from a week at Maurers Lake near Excelsior Springs. The trip cost $7.45 per Scout, and the boys shared cooking and cleanup duties. Bobby Roling is named among the campers and among those awarded beginners\u2019 swimming certificates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also names Richard Roling as having passed the 150-foot First Class swimming requirement. That is a swimming qualification, not proof of the full First Class rank. The attendance roster uses \u201cDick Roling\u201d; the article does not explicitly equate the two name forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong> \u201cScouts Camp at Excelsior Springs,\u201d Salisbury Press-Spectator<\/em>, July 18, 1947, page 1. Read the original summer-camp article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Christmas-party memory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bridget\u2019s handwritten memoir recalls her first date with Bob at a Boy Scout Christmas party in the cabin at the city park, where he gave her a gold deer pin. Read Bridget\u2019s recollection in the family story<\/a>. The year has not been established. Neither the 1944 nor the 1945 article identifies a deer pin or a first date, so neither has yet been matched to that evening. A name\u2019s absence from a newspaper guest list does not prove that the person was absent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A later adult connection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A separate newspaper report records a later civic connection: Bob receiving Scout Troop and Cub Pack charters at a 1964 Kiwanis meeting<\/a>. It identifies him as club vice-president, without establishing a Scout-unit office or continuous involvement since childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About these sources and dates<\/summary>\n\n

These are contemporary newspaper accounts preserved in copies of the original pages. The short summaries here keep the newspaper\u2019s reported events distinct from family memories and later conclusions. They do not replace troop records, and the newspaper may contain errors.<\/p>\n\n\n

The section dates are publication dates, which can differ from event dates. The June camporee\u2019s June 1\u20133 dates, the April 27 spring-party date and the planned October 16 Court of Honor date are printed in their articles. When a newspaper gives only a relative weekday, the summary keeps that wording rather than substituting an inferred numbered date.<\/p>\n\n\n

Both Christmas accounts refer to a Scout Cabin in the city park. The 1945 description of a new cabin does not establish whether it was the same structure used in 1944, or connect either building to a present-day address. Article links lead to the source provider; full newspaper scans are not republished on this page.<\/p>\n\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Return to the Roling family story<\/a> \u00b7 Sources and how to read them<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Original newspaper articles tracing Bobby Roling\u2019s activities with Salisbury\u2019s Ben Franklin Troop 18, 1944\u20131947.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":7,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-916","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=916"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":967,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/916\/revisions\/967"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}